OC Spine Surgeons Self-Fund Medical Mission to Help Children with Scoliosis in Ghana
by: Hoag Orthopedic Institute
Published: November 18, 2025
IRVINE...Hoag Orthopedic Institute (HOI) spine surgeons Kushagra Verma, M.D. and Jeremy Smith, M.D. have just returned from a one-week medical mission to Ghana where they performed spine surgeries on children with severe scoliosis. This was Dr. Verma’s 5th medical mission to the West African country and this time he self-funded the trip, planned the logistics himself and assembled a renowned team of spine surgeons to join him.
“What amazes me about these missions are the patients themselves, and their resilience to live with severe spinal deformity for years,” said Dr. Verma. “These would be routine conditions regularly treated at HOI.”
Routine is a relative term to Dr. Verma as HOI performs the most spine surgeries of all forms in Orange County.
Accompanying him on this trip were Jeremy Smith, M.D. division chief of spine surgery at HOI and Khawar Siddique, M.D., a neurosurgeon and spine specialist from West Los Angeles. Also joining the group for the mission was internist Patricia Chang, M.D. Dr. Verma and Dr. Smith are colleagues and enjoy a friendship of more than 15 years.
Together, they performed 11 complex spinal surgeries at FOCOS Hospital in Ghana, most of which were for young children with severe scoliosis. They also performed pain-relieving spine surgeries on multiple patients as well as removing a spinal tumor. All the patients responded well to their treatments.
“These patients have lived with these deformities for their entire lives.” said Dr. Verma. They often traveled for days to reach the hospital in order to have their surgery”
The experience reminded the surgeons that while technology and precision define the art of modern spine surgery, compassion and the human connection remain its beating heart.
“The trip reminded me of why I wanted to become a spine surgeon,” said Dr. Smith. “This entire experience filled me gratitude and perspective that will make me a better doctor here in Orange County.”
Years ago, when Dr. Verma was a young medical student in New York, he heard a spine surgeon speak of his passion to help those as part of a medical mission to Ghana. Dr. Verma volunteered and accompanied him on his very next trip to the African nation.
For Dr. Verma, that first trip changed his life and paved the course of his career as a spine surgeon. He continues to engage in medical missions around the world.
“My next trip is already being planned,” he says.